Winners and Losers from the Falcons' 30-26 win in Detroit

The Atlanta Falcons beat the Detroit Lions 30-26 on a wonky play at the end of the game when Golden Tate was stopped short of the end zone and the 10-second run off gave the Falcons the win.

There was some sloppy play by Atlanta late, but it was masked by other performances.

Here are your winners and losers for Week 3.

Winner: Running offense

The Falcons kept pounding the ball early and often, leading to one of the best games of the season running it. Devonta Freeman averaged 5.0 yards per carry, and Tevin Coleman averaged 7.7 yards per carry throughout the day. Atlanta gained an average of 5.6 yards on its 27 designed runs and ran for 151 yards.

Loser: Ball security

Matt Ryan threw three interceptions, with one returned for a touchdown. Two of the three interceptions bounced off his own players, but the Falcons only allowed 10 points on the three interceptions. Atlanta’s defense tightened up after each one they could defend to force either a punt or a field goal, but turnovers need to be addressed.

Winner: WR Taylor Gabriel

After being somewhat quiet through the first two games, it was time for Gabriel to go off. He was catching key third-down passes for first downs before the Falcons decided to go with a very unique play-action screen pass. Gabriel found the soft spots to run through and scored a 40-yard touchdown on it.

Loser: Penalties

On the final drive of the game, Robert Alford had an interception to seal it, but Desmond Trufant was then called for a holding call. Then on a key third down, Trufant was called for a defensive pass interference to give the Lions the ball at the Falcons one-yard line. Atlanta skated out of it, but it needs to get the penalties under control.

Winner: Run defense

After allowing a near-league-high 5.4 yards per carry through the first two games, Atlanta came back this week to allow just 3.7 yards per carry against the Lions. If you take out the two scrambles by Stafford, the Falcons allowed just 3.1 yards per carry on designed runs. The run defense helped the Falcons keep Detroit one-dimensional.

Loser: Pass rush

After getting four sacks in Week 1 and three sacks in Week 2, the Falcons got just two sacks today. They were missing Vic Beasley, and there was a noticeable drop-off in pressure on the quarterback. On the bright side, Takkarist McKinley got his first sack, and Adrian Clayborn was in the backfield a good part of the game.